Parker McCollum Delivers Powerful ‘What Kinda Man’ Performance At CMA Fest
This fan-favorite track was inspired by the Texas native’s real life.

Parker McCollum; Photo Courtesy CMA
Earlier this month, Parker McCollum took the stage at Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest 2025 to perform his powerful single, “What Kinda Man.” Fans can catch this standout moment during “CMA Fest presented by SoFi,” airing tonight, June 26 at 8/7c on ABC and streaming the next day on Hulu.
The performance highlighted the story that shows a more vulnerable side of the Texas native, one who’s cleaned up his act, traded his wild days for something more meaningful, and found himself walking back into the Union Valley Church he once swore he’d never enter again.
Sporting his usual look of blue jeans, a button down, cowboy boots and a baseball cap, McCollum let his soulful vocals soar through the speakers of the Nashville stadium while his guitar plucks elevated the rugged country sound of the tune. Fans can be seen singing, dancing and holding their loved ones close throughout the entire delivery.
“Yeah, I’ve been runnin’ so damn long/ There ain’t a woman who could settle me down/ Wilder than a bat out of hell/ Off the rails and blazin’ through town/ But then you walk in floatin’ on air/ And you look across the room at me/ Forget the man I am, what kind of man do you need,” Parker McCollum sings on the captivating chorus.

During a recent interview with Country Now and other outlets, the country star reflected on co-writing “What Kinda Man” several years ago with Jeremy Spillman and Natalie Hemby. He admits that the narrative came in a moment of reflection, drawing on his own real-life transformation after meeting his now-wife, Hallie Ray Light.
“[It’s] pretty accurate to how Hallie Ray, what she did for me. when we very first met, that’s when I really started to clean it up. I’d been running really hard for a long time and living the way I thought that songwriters were supposed to live on the road and she was really kind of the one that made me start to clean it up and dial it back a little bit. And so I think that song comes from a very real place.”
He goes on to explain that at the time, he wasn’t trying to write a song of this nature, there was no title or hook that led to the song unfolding. He was simply playing around on the guitar and making up some words when the song eventually came together naturally and his co-writers helped put the finishing touches on it.

“What Kinda Man” is set to appear on Parker McCollum’s self-titled album dropping June 27. When it came time to pick singles off the project, he says it was down to “What Kinda Man” or “Hope That I’m Enough.” His label then made their pick based off the song’s hard-hitting nature that made it perfect for country radio.
“Obviously for radio, they want something that has tempo and that’s hard for me to get. It’s hard to get out of me. I don’t write fun radio songs very well. Not that that is one, but it was the closest thing to it. So that’s kind of how it became the single,” he explained.
Parker McCollum’s “What Kinda Man” performance aired during the three-hour special, “CMA Fest presented by SoFi.” The show was broadcast on ABC on Thursday, June 26 at 8/7c and is available for streaming the next day on Hulu.
Madeleine O’Connell graduated from North Central College with a bachelors degree in Journalism and Broadcast Communications before deciding to pursue her studies further at DePaul University. There, she earned her masters degree in Digital Communication & Media Arts. O’Connell served as a freelance writer for over two years while also interning with the Academy of Country Music, SiriusXM and Circle Media and assisting with Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly podcast. In addition to Country Now, she has been published in American Songwriter, Music Mayhem, and Holler.Country. Madeleine O’Connell is a member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.